Shopping Spree (2)
"What if every time you went window shopping, someone came along right after you and bought you everything you wanted? Sounds like a dream, we know. But dreams come true, on SHOPPING SPREE! And now here's the the host of Shopping Spree... RON PEARSON!" The two year old shopping game show where contestants shopped for prizes for their partners whom they've never met before. Main Game Before the show, two contestants (one from each team) each picked the one prize from a choice of four they each like to have from each of the six stores on a fictional street on stage. They wore clues about themselves to help their partners whom they've never met get them those prizes. At the beginning of each half of the game, the contestant in control and host Ron stood on the "town square" (the contestant stood on a pedestal) and went over the items the contestant is wearing. When they were done, the "strangely-dressed" contestant was asked to strike a pose after the count of three after which the partner was brought out. The partner was given 20 seconds to analyze the items on the contestant who is still posing. When the 20 seconds expired, the contestant was released from his/her pose, stepped off the pedestal and met his/her partner for the first time. When all was said and done, a clock was set depending on whose turn it is (for the first team counted up, and for the second team it counted down from the time set by the first team). Now when Ron said "GO!" the partner's job is to run to each of the six stores one at a time and picked a prize he/she thought was what the "strangely-dressed" contestant wanted. After choosing each prize, the partner ran back to the "town square" and showed the prize he/she chose. If the prize is correct, he/she dumped it in the shopping bag and ran to the next store; if the prize is incorrect, Ron read a clue about the right prize to the partner who ran back to the store he/she's currently on to try again. Once the partner chose the right six prizes, the clock stopped. $hopping $pree Main Game 2.jpg|This shopper thought that "La Boheme" is one of the prizes chosen by her partner... $hopping $pree Main Game 3.jpg|...but it's not; Ron helps her out by giving a clue. $hopping $pree Main Game 4.jpg|Now she goes for Branford Marsalis. $hopping $pree Main Game 5.jpg|DING! That's correct, so put it in the shopping bag and run to the next store. $hopping $pree Main Game 6.jpg|Here's another contestant trying to beat a set time. $hopping $pree Main Game 7.jpg|Will she make it time? $hopping $pree Main Game 8.jpg|YES! $hopping $pree Time Cue Card.jpg|In later episodes of season one, the first team would hold a cue card with their set time written on it. Denise/Dennis DuJour In the first half of the game after going over the clues for the member of the first team, a randomly selected member of the studio audience (whom was given the name "Denise DuJour" in case of a female, whereas in the case of males it was "Dennis DuJour") modeled the six stores in play for that day's show. $hopping $pree Main Game 1.jpg|Here's the day's Denise DuJour showing us store #2. Second Season Rule Changes *The "strangely-dressed" contestant would strike a pose after the partner came out. The identity of the contestant's pose was revealed to the home & studio audience. The partner guessed what the pose was (host Pearson made a funny guess) before the 20 second inspection. When posing, giving away too much of a hint incurs a 10 second penalty. *If the runner got all six prizes right without a miss, the team won $500 (never won). Season 2 Pose.jpg|Here's a legal season two pose. Shopping Spree Rule Breaker.jpg|That Thumbs Up is a bad gesture. ---- The object of the game is to shop for the right six prizes in a faster time than the opposing team. The first team who won the coin toss backstage before the show sets the time, while the second team tried to beat the time. The team with the faster time won the game. The partner of the winning team won a $500 shopping spree, while the "strangely-dressed" contestant kept all the prizes chosen by him/her at the start. The winning team also won a chance to play the bonus round called "The Birthday Party" for a cash prize, plus a fabulous vacation. The Birthday Party The Birthday Party was a bonus game where the winning team shopped for seven gifts related to seven celebrities. Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double-Up Derby This debuted after the first several episodes were taped. In this game, the winning team played a special game affecting the grand cash prize called "Denise/Dennis DuJour's Double-Up Derby". Before the show, that's day's Denise/Dennis chose which prize from one of today's stores (Tojours DuJour in season two, replacing the fifth store) he/she most like to have. Denise/Dennis came out while announcer Burton Richardson read a description about that day's Denise/Dennis. When all said and done, the winning team pointed the to prize they thought Denise/Dennis picked. The prize Denise/Dennis picked was then revealed (by virtue of a shot of Denise/Dennis zooming out onto the selected prize), and if the winning team was correct, the value of the cash prize was doubled and that's day's Denise/Dennis won that chosen prize. Win or lose, Denise/Dennis won a $100 salary. Denise Dujour's Double-Up Derby.jpg|Here's the season one Double-Up Derby. Toujour Dujour.jpg|Here's the season two Double-Up Derby featuring the special store "Toujours Dujour". Denise Dujour Cue Card.jpg|Denise holding a cue card regarding the salary. Main Bonus Game The three parts of the set turned 180 degrees from the town shopping center to reveal the Birthday Party. The left side revealed the playing area, the center piece held a large representation of a birthday cake, and the right side showed "The Birthday Board" which was a purple wall of 12 to 14 items. The items were gone over by host Pearson who would sometimes do a crazy act with some of the items. Now the winning team had 75 seconds (1:15) to shop for the seven celebrity guests of honor. One team member shopped for the gifts while the other wrapped and delivered the gifts. A caricature of a famous celebrity (real or fictional, past or present) would appear at the head of a table, then the shopper took down an item from the board that he/she thought was connected to the celebrity in some way (for example, the letter "E" would be connected to Vanna White) and threw it to the wrapper. If the wrapper disagreed, he/she threw it back, but if the wrapper agreed, he/she then placed it in the box and slid it down the table to the celebrity. If the gift was correct, it was accepted, dropped into the prize pile and another celebrity appeared; if not, the celebrity would "reject" that gift and push it back. The team could pass on a celebrity, however that celebrity may come back to "haunt them", in other words they would go back to that celebrity if they have the time. In season two, the shopper cannot cross a yellow line, if and when that happened, the team was assessed a five second penalty. Each correct gift was worth $100, and getting all seven right before the time expired won each player on the winning team a trip and $2,000 ($1,000 for each player), but if the team won the Double Up Derby, the cash prize was $4,000 ($2,000 for each player). Shopping Spree $1000 Double Up Derby.jpg|$1000 for the cash prize in the Birthday Party. Shopping Spree $2000 Double Up Derby.jpg|$2000 for the bonus game if the Double-Up Derby was won. Shopping Spree Set Turn 1.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 2.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 3.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 4.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 6.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 7.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 5.jpg Shopping Spree Set Turn 8.jpg Shopping Spree Birthday Board.jpg|Where can you shop for present for the celebrities? $hopping $pree Birthday Board 1.jpg|Why, at the Birthday Board! $hopping $pree Birthday Board 2.jpg|Here's Ron showing us one of the items. $hopping $pree Birthday Party 1.jpg|Happy Birthday, Ted Danson! $hopping $pree Birthday Party 2.jpg|Here's the shopper selecting the Red Sox pennant. $hopping $pree Birthday Party 3.jpg|Is it accepted? $hopping $pree Birthday Party 4.jpg|Yes it is! $hopping $pree Birthday Party 5.jpg|Will they get the last correct gift in time? $hopping $pree Birthday Party 6.jpg|THEY MADE IT! Music Al Kasha & Mark Nordstrom Inventor Jay Wolpert Trivia *The "strangely-dressed" contestants first stood in front of the door of the Ice Cream Parlor at center stage with their backs to the audience. This coincided with the end of the animated opening sequence, in which two window-shopping cartoon girls had their backs to the camera when it zoomed out to show a whole animated version of the street. The cartoon disappeared Bonanza-style (except with magic balls) to reveal the set, the computer-animated logo attached to a hot air balloon crossed the screen (it would cross again going into the third & final commercial break), and the contestants spread out to either side of the street to make room for Pearson's entrance through the ice cream parlor door. *For the first taped episodes without the Double-Up Derby, the show went to the first commercial break after meeting the "strangely-dressed" contestants for both teams, and after the first commercial break, the first team's "strangely-dressed" contestant would play first. Also the contestant's clues would be circled with the use of an electronic pen (ala Now You See It and football instant replays). When the Double-Up Derby was added, to make time for the Double-Up Derby, after meeting the "strangely-dressed" contestants, they would go straight to the first team's "strangely-dressed" contestant's description; the first commercial break was not taken until after the first team finished shopping. *When going into the first commercial break (the second commercial break for the first taped episodes without the Double-Up Derby), Denise/Dennis pulled down a shade on a door at the general store that had the show's logo on it surrounded by the words "WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK" above it. In season two, the show's logo was replaced by the cartoon girls. SS WIndow Shade 1.PNG|Window Shade Season 1. SS WIndow Shade 2.PNG|Window Shade Season 2. The Cartoon Ladies from the intro are back. *When entering and exiting the set, contestants would go through the Ice Cream Parlor at center stage. The "store" had hidden doors on the side for contestants to enter and exit through; those doors would be locked shut for the "Birthday Party" reveal. *Late in the first season (mostly in the second team's run) and in all of the second season, we saw the shopping bag, the show's logo but in a different pattern (to which all the correct prizes go in) slide in from stage right in front of the "town square"; the bag zoomed in going into the second commercial break. Occasionally it was shown again in front Denise/Dennis whenever there was a bonus grand prize involved. *Also late in the first season and in all of the second season, when Ron Pearson told the second team to beat the time the first team took to finish before the second team began shopping, a cue card was held in their hands with their set time written on it. Additionally, the Double-Up Derby also had Denise/Dennis holding a cue card with a joke response after Ron explained about the $100 salary prize for him/her. *The birthday cake in the first season had flame-like light bulbs. When the show returned for a second season, the bulbs were replaced with strobes (a common feature on certain game shows). *Also in Season 2 new sound effects were used. *At the end of all episodes, Ron Pearson juggled things (Ron is a real life professional juggler) and sometimes balanced things on his nose. Occasionally, he would do crazy stunts using items from the Birthday Board (the winning team and that day's Denise/Dennis DuJour could also join in). Ron the Juggler.jpg|Ron the Juggler Drawings Shopping Spree Ideal Set 1.png Shopping Spree Ideal Set 2.png Shopping Spree Ideal Set 3.png Shopping Spree Ideal Birthday Party Set.png Taglines "Next time we'll have another street jammed with prizes, and another Birthday Party. Party, shopping, all in a half-hour. I'm coming back to watch, and I hope you will, too. Bye-bye, everybody." - Ron Pearson, Shopping Spree, (early 1st season) "Tomorrow, will be today all over again except even more exciting. (I don't know how it's gonna happen; and as Humphrey Bogart sort of said, "If your heart can take it, so can ours." So play it again) next time on Shopping Spree. Bye-bye, everybody." - Ron Pearson, Shopping Spree, (rest of 1st season) "Tomorrow, we'll have brand-new games, brand-new prizes, brand-new contestants, same old host. Hey, 3 out of 4 ain't bad. See you next time on Shopping Spree. Bye-bye, everybody." Ron Pearson, Shopping Spree, (2nd season) Links *The Unoffical Shopping Spree Homepage *Rules for Shopping Spree *Host Ron Pearson's Official Website YouTube Video Clip of the Birthday Party round Category:Consumer Category:Shopping Category:Lifestyle Category:Daytime shows Category:Jay Wolpert Productions Category:MTM Enterprises Category:1996 premieres Category:1998 endings